Author: Natalie

A Pouch for Pics, Tuners & Leads

Categories Bags, Sewing2 Comments on A Pouch for Pics, Tuners & Leads

One of the main problems that I have found with living in a one bed apartment, is that it is so difficult to keep tidy.  I like to think of myself as an organised person anyway but anything that is left out looks messy 😦  Adam has placed his guitar and amp in the living room/open plan living area.  Accompanying his guitar are pics, tuners, leads and other things that I have no clue about!

Along came the double zippered pouch.  Two compartments; one for the leads and the other for the other bits!  This also counts as one of my Sew Selfless September items as it is a gift for Adam 🙂 … and it will keep things tidy!

I found this tutorial on Pinterest which seemed to be easy to follow.  There was a video and a series of pictures to flick through!  They were easy to follow and well labelled.  I made my pouch bigger than the one on the tutorial because I needed to fit a larger lead in.

fabric sizes

Continue reading ➞ A Pouch for Pics, Tuners & Leads

The Tale of the Short Sleeved Shirt

Categories Clothing, Sewing20 Comments on The Tale of the Short Sleeved Shirt

When fabric shopping last week, Adam found some burgundy cotton, scattered with small golden stars.  He asked if I would make him a shirt and of course, I agreed as long as he could find me a pattern.  So he did.  He chose a New Look pattern that had an option for a shirt for both of us.  I must admit that I was a little scared of the thought of making something that wasn’t clothing for me.  I couldn’t try  it on half way through and I knew that it had to be as close to perfect as possible as I know how fussy Adam can be with his clothes.

This was the first pattern where I had traced elements rather than cutting it all out to the size needed.  I used freezer paper to trace and it is nice to know that I have that pre-cut pattern now to use again.  Even if it did take an extra hour to trace and cut :-/

I made a few alterations to the instructions as it called for interfacing within the collar and under the shirt front.  I didn’t have any  so just went for a facing in the same material, which turned out to be just right and wasn’t too thick!  The body of the shirt came together perfectly and the facings were relatively easy to attach too.  The collar confused me loads and the instructions weren’t very clear; the pictures didn’t really help either.  I attached it and just hoped I had done it right!  It turned out fine but it seemed a very long winded way to attach a collar!  I also ended up catching a tiny bit of the facing in the collar seam….ggggrrrr!  Adam didn’t notice though!

Continue reading ➞ The Tale of the Short Sleeved Shirt

Sewing Selflessly

Categories Other, Sewing5 Comments on Sewing Selflessly

A few days agoI came across a blog by Jess at the Sometimes Sewist, which has inspired me to have a little think about the other things I could be making!

So:

I, Natalie, of Threads & Bobbins, pledge this Sew Selfless September to make at least 3 items for people other than myself!

There we go!  I’ve made my pledge and my first post will be on tomorrow once I’ve finished it 🙂  I like everything handmade, and handmade gifts made by me are even better!

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A Hidden Treasure

Categories Alabama, Other, Sewing, Travel6 Comments on A Hidden Treasure

I feel that Mobile isn’t really a big city for tourism.  There are many things to do here; museums, parks, shops…but it always seems to be quiet and peaceful.  We often end up wondering where everyone is and wonder if we are missing something!  Yesterday we headed downtown for some lunch and I then wanted to go and visit the library.  I was intrigued more than anything, not only was this grand building huge (bigger than most libraries I have seen), it was also quite mysterious.  From the outside, you could not see into the building.  Every time we had driven past, I had always wondered what it was like inside.

I had been on the website and looked into getting a library card.  I wasn’t entirely convinced that I would be eligible but I had proof of our stay and address.  The online catalogue also showed that there were some Mollie Makes books available; the ones that I had been looking at buying!

The car park was busy.  It appeared that this was the place where everyone was!  I filled out the form, presented my ID and was given a brand new library card.  Now, I hate to admit this but I haven’t used a library since my time in University, where all of the books I read were about various educational issues and they would help me to write assignments.  Over the last couple of years I have taken my class to visit their local library but never actually used it myself!

Continue reading ➞ A Hidden Treasure

A Sneaky Peek … and a Mini Giveaway!

Categories Other, Sewing1 Comment on A Sneaky Peek … and a Mini Giveaway!

So, I have been a little quiet on the blogging side this week!  I have been very busy sewing BUT I can’t really do proper blog posts about my creations for a couple of weeks!  They will be going across the Atlantic as presents for a few people back home!

However, I thought I could give you all a sneaky peek of what I have made!!

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AND in addition to this sneaky peek at my new creations… I am also going to announce that once I get to 100 followers, I’m going to run a little giveaway from my fabric stash 🙂  Just as a little celebration!!

P is for Pensacola, Penny and Pelicans

Categories Travel3 Comments on P is for Pensacola, Penny and Pelicans

On Sunday we headed to Pensacola in Florida.  I still can’t believe that Florida is only an hour away from us!  We tried to research a few activities before we went as we have a habit of going to places and wandering around aimlessly!  Adam really wanted to go on the beach and I had a found a Geocache trail that we could start!

Geocaching is another secret passion of mine.  I’m not an expert, we have only found 47….some people have found over 2000!  If you click here you will find out a bit more.  I had done Geocaching back in the UK and we had even introduced it to the kids in my class.  I had my class Geocaching on a school trip and it was even incorporated into an INSET day!  The trail I had found involved 5 different smaller trails.  If you found certain amounts of Geocaches, you got different commemorative bracelets….IF you did them all you received a special coin!  Many people think that Geocaching is a little bit sad 😦 … however, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!  There is something strangely rewarding about finding hidden tubs around the World!

On our small and unsuccessful Geocaching trip (we only found 3), we came across a Pensacola Pelican and a Pensacola Penny Butterfly!

Pensacola Pelican

 

Continue reading ➞ P is for Pensacola, Penny and Pelicans